A week, or a few days, experience providing students with the opportunity to work in your workplace alongside employees. 

Work experience gives students the opportunity to get an in-depth look at a real workplace and engage with staff over an extended period of time. It allows staff to demonstrate their role and skills and provide students with the chance to develop these skills for themselves.  Seeing the progress made across the week can be really rewarding for both students and staff.

Quick Stats – Work Experience Block Placement
Time commitment
1 day to several weeks
Age group
Yr 10+ (best Yr 12/13)
Volunteers needed
1:1 supervision
Complexity
Higher — most immersive
Timetable – Work Experience Block Placement
Example timetables
Example A
One Week Work Shadowing
An individual student is placed with a particular team or department to shadow and assist with real tasks across the week.
Day 1
9:30 am
Arrival, induction and tour
Treat the student like a new starter — introduce them to the team, show them around and set expectations for the week.
10:30 am
Shadowing and assisting with tasks
Student begins work within their allocated team — shadowing staff and assisting with day-to-day tasks.
12:30 pm
Lunch
Ideally in the staff canteen — a valuable learning experience of workplace culture.
1:15 pm
Shadowing and assisting with tasks
Afternoon session continues with shadowing and task assistance.
3:30 pm
Debrief and depart
Brief check-in at the end of day one — how did it go, any questions?
Days 2–4
9:30 am
Shadowing and assisting with tasks
Student continues working within the team, taking on progressively more varied tasks and responsibilities.
4:00 pm
Depart
A slightly shorter day works well for both students and those supporting them.
Day 5
9:30 am
Shadowing and assisting with tasks
Final morning of work within the team.
3:30 pm
End of week debrief and depart
Review of the student's experience and feedback — WWW (what worked well) and EBI (even better if).
💡 Delivery tips
1
Students will be nervous — run the induction as if they are a new starter to put them at ease.
2
Ensure students are given a variety of tasks and shadowing opportunities across the week.
3
Give students the opportunity to work with a range of departments and teams if possible.
4
Provide a diary for students to record their key learnings each day.
5
Use the end-of-week debrief to give structured WWW and EBI feedback.
Arrival
Core activity
Lunch
Debrief
Depart
Example B
Three Day Skills Based Experience
A group of students visit your organisation over three days to take part in shadowing and skills-based tasks.
Day 1
10:00 am
Arrival, induction and tour
Introduce students to the organisation, their main contact, and what to expect across the three days.
10:45 am
Activity 1 — Skills-based task
Students undertake a skills-based task, e.g. a digital task or research challenge.
12:45 pm
Lunch
Ideally in the staff canteen.
1:30 pm
Activity 2 — Skills-based task
Students undertake a second skills-based task, e.g. a research task or workplace challenge.
3:30 pm
Debrief and depart
Brief end-of-day check-in and reflection.
Days 2 and 3
10:00 am
Skills-based task
Students continue with tasks building on the previous day's work.
12:30 pm
Lunch
In the staff canteen.
1:15 pm
Shadowing a team
Students shadow a team or department different from their morning activity.
3:30 pm
Debrief and depart
On the final day, include a structured feedback session with WWW and EBI for each student.
💡 Delivery tips
1
The three-day format lets you offer opportunities to more students while still giving staff the chance to develop their own skills.
2
Use the induction to make students clear on office protocols — dress code, where to go, who to ask for help.
3
Rotate students across different departments where possible — it gives a wider view of the company.
4
Provide realistic and varied activities — avoid tasks that feel like "busywork".
5
Liaise with schools around 3 months before the placement to ensure all health and safety procedures are in place.
Arrival
Core activity
Lunch
Debrief
Depart
 

Conditions for success

  • Liaise with schools around 3 months before placement to ensure all necessary health and safety/insurance procedures are in place before commencing with the programme.   

  • Ensure the school/college will have a staff member to as key contact for the project  

  • Rotate students to different areas of the business if possible – it gives a wider view of your company and shares the workload 

  • Provide realistic and varied activities for the students to complete  

“The three-day programme works well as it allows us to offer opportunities to more students, while still giving our staff the chance to develop their own skills.”
“We appreciate companies that offer these programmes because work experience is vital for our students, but we often struggle to find placements for them.”
“We really welcome the chance to get hands on work experience as it gives us a much better understanding of the world of work.”
 

Additional components you could include 

  • Mock Interviews – opportunity for students to practise their interview skills and receive feedback from a professional 

  • Structured encounter with staff – such as a speed networking session to give students the opportunity to engage with a wider range of staff, beyond those involved in the work experience 

  • Mentoring – opportunity for students to stay connected with your company and build their experiences beyond the work experience programme  

 

Priming and debriefing support 

  • Share a briefing pack with schools in advance to give students an idea of what will be expected of them during the placement. This could include a research task related to your company or sector for them to complete 

  • Ask students to complete a takeaway task of putting together a personal development/action plan based on what they have learnt during the placement 

  • Provide a detailed feedback report of the student’s performance to be shared with parents and teachers 

  • You could offer to supply a written reference for the student to use in future applications  

Learning Outcomes – Work Experience Block Placement
Introduce and Inspire

Students are able to recognise essential workplace skills and how these help with their career decisions.

Investigate and Explore

Using real life examples, students are able to understand and describe different roles within an organisation and explain what they do.

Apply and Demonstrate

Students can demonstrate what they have learnt through their experience and how that informs their future decision making.